Prometheus 6

In It's Not Apartheid, Michael Kinsley says

Comes now former president Jimmy Carter with a new best-selling book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." It's not clear what he means by using the loaded word "apartheid," since the book makes no attempt to explain it, but the only reasonable interpretation is that Carter is comparing Israel to the former white racist government of South Africa. That is a foolish and unfair comparison, unworthy of the man who won -- and deserved -- the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing Israel and Egypt together in the Camp David Accords, and who has lent such luster to the imaginary office of former president.

Why unfair? Comparing things isn't the same as declaring them to be the same. In fact, the only way to distinguish it from apartheid is a thorough comparison, sorting out the similarities and differences. I'd ask "why foolish," but I can demonstrate (understanding it's a relative judgement to begin with).

I mean, what's the parallel? Apartheid had a philosophical component and a practical one, both quite bizarre. Philosophically, it was committed to the notion of racial superiority. [P6: see "Chosen People of God"] No doubt many Israelis have racist attitudes toward Arabs, but the official philosophy of the government is quite the opposite, and sincere efforts are made to, for example, instill humanitarian and egalitarian attitudes in children. That is not true, of course, in Arab countries, where hatred of Jews is a standard part of the curriculum. [P6: blah, blah, blah]

The practical component of apartheid involved the creation of phony nations called "Bantustans." [P6: Kind of caught up in the specifics, no?] Black South Africans would be stripped of their citizenship and assigned to far-away Bantustans, where often they had never set foot. The goal was a racially pure white South Africa, though the contradiction with the need for black labor was never resolved. Here might be a parallel with Israel, which needs the labor of the Arabs it is trying to keep out. [P6: It is wise to acknowledge this]

But in other ways, the implied comparison is backward. To start with, no one has yet thought to accuse Israel of creating a phony country in finally acquiescing to the creation of a Palestinian state. Palestine is no Bantustan. [P6: Ah...THAT'S why you're caught up in the specifics.] Or if it is, it is the creation of Arabs, not Jews. Furthermore, Israel has always had Arab citizens. They are a bit on display, like black conservatives at a Republican convention. No doubt they suffer discrimination. Nevertheless, they are citizens with the right to vote and so on. [P6: It is wise to acknowledge this...]

Really, once the comparison is made the similarities are uncomfortable for people to whom words are the primary reality.